


Write Like You Need It To Survive

by johnfightmelaurens



Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Mute Alexander Hamilton, Mutism, but its not, i know what youre thinking, it totally is, this isnt a college au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-24
Updated: 2017-02-03
Packaged: 2018-09-19 15:42:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,699
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9448109
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/johnfightmelaurens/pseuds/johnfightmelaurens
Summary: “You just lost your voice,” they said. “All that screaming and crying that comes with surviving a hurricane? That’s what did it. Rest it and you’ll be fine.”But he wasn’t fine. He rested it and rested it and rested it and it never came back.





	1. Storm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was going to be just a one shot but here I am and here it isn't.

This wasn’t supposed to happen.

Of all the things that Alexander had seen, had done, had experienced in his 17 years of life this was perhaps one of the most devastating. It was a loss, a loss that cut nearly as deep as his mother’s passing without trivializing the magnitude of the event. To lie next to your dying mother while deliriously sick and suffering is something one can never forget, but this was a whole different level of pain.

The doctors that he had been able to see at the free clinic set up after the hurricane had quickly pushed him past. Sure there was something wrong with him, but nothing they could readily help. He wasn’t sick, he wasn’t bleeding or limping, he didn’t have a concussion.

“You just lost your voice,” they said. “All that screaming and crying that comes with surviving a hurricane? That’s what did it. Rest it and you’ll be fine.”

But he wasn’t fine. He rested it and rested it and rested it and it never came back.

* * *

Alexander was tired of people telling him quite a number of things. Half the list was pity bullshit he didn’t want to deal with and the rest was a slew of insults and derogatory remarks. 

“Why do you talk with your hands?”

“Are you dumb or something?”

“I’m talking to you!”

“Speak up.”

“Speak up!”

_”Speak up!”_

_I can’t._

* * *

Good text to speech devices and apps were hard to come by and Alexander had yet to find one that he liked well enough to actively use. Signing was his go to; he could keep up with his thoughts if he signed and he didn’t need to wait for the person on the receiving end to read whatever long winded thing he had typed out and God forbid he have to sit there and listen to a shitty automated voice explain it all.

The problem with signing was that not a lot of people knew what the fuck he was trying to say.

The university had provided him with an interpreter, but it just brought him unnecessary attention that started to get on his nerves after a while. They weren’t paying attention to what he had to say, just how he was saying it, and they weren’t even looking at his hands. Half the time when he had conversations with people they stared at the person standing beside him wearing black with nice manicured fingers.

The interpreters were nice people at the very least. They liked the fact that they just had to read his hands, signing back to him wasn’t necessary. After a while though, he asked the school to stop sending them with him to class.

Professors, despite all the ADA and anti-discrimination policies, didn’t like calling on the mute kid during lecture, especially the mute kid who had a lot to say. When he stopped raising his hand and then stopped dragging the poor interpreter along altogether, there seemed to be a sigh of relief that spread throughout the faculty. 

He never lost a single participation point.

Sometimes though, the professors didn’t get the memo that he couldn’t talk until it was a moment too late. Roll call was frustrating because if the professor didn’t look up when they read off the long list of names, he would get missed unless someone was kind enough to say something (which wasn’t often). Sometimes they liked to look down at the list of registered students and pick one at random to answer a question.

That’s what happened today at least.

“Alright now, it’s early on in the quarter and I don’t expect a whole lot from you all right now. These concepts are easy and you probably know them already, but you’d be surprised by how many people are just that stupid,” Henry Knox, the most boring professor Alexander had ever had the privilege of having was droning on and on. He had a tendency to belittle his students, especially when covering reading material that next to no one read. 

Alexander did at very least.

“I want someone to explain the Ben Franklin Effect,” he continued, looking down to pick a random name off the list. “Uh, Alexander Hamilton. Stand up please.”

 _Fuck me,_ he thought as he got to his feet. He had been here time and time again and he really didn’t want to deal with this right now. He didn’t have an interpreter and the chance of the professor knowing sign was slim to none. He just hoped that once he realized that he _couldn’t fucking talk_ he could just sit down and never be bothered again.

_When you do someone a favor and like them more afterwards,_ he signed, careful to keep his signs clear. Professor Knox didn’t even try to hide his annoyed expression once he realized his mistake. 

“Do you not have an interpreter?” he huffed. “The university should have provided you with one if you did it right.” 

Oh he did not have time for this right now. His signs were a little more jerky this time and he signed more than the professor would understand, but no matter. _I do, but I just don’t use them because I love being treated like a freak show and getting all this pity._

“He says that he does, but he just doesn’t use them unless they’re really needed,” someone said, making Alexander frown as he looked to see who it was. That was definitely _not_ what he said, but it was the better answer by far. 

“Oh, are you his interpreter then? I didn’t know that they sat half way across the room from the person they’re speaking for.” 

That was not the way that Alexander liked to describe those who aided him, but it wasn’t going to do any good to argue the point, not when no one would hear it. 

“No, I just happen to know ASL. By the way, his answer to your question was ‘when you do someone a favor and then you like them more afterwards’ which I believe is correct.” 

Professor Knox nodded after a moment and looked back to Alexander. “You can sit down now, I’m going to lecture.” 

* * *

_You know ASL?_ Alexander signed frantically, barely catching up to the guy who had come to his rescue in class. It was rare that he found another student on campus that signed and he was cute too. 

“I’m not going to interpret for you in class if that’s what you’re thinking. That is so not my job.” 

_I’m not asking for that,_ he signed quickly with a grin plastered across his face. _You don’t know how long it’s been since I’ve met someone who wasn’t assigned to me that knows how to sign._

“Well,” the stranger said, stopping for a moment once they ended up on the grassy quad outside. He had a bit of a smile on his face that encouraged Alexander to grin back at him. “I’m a bit rusty, fair warning. Want to go get some coffee? I’m John.” 

John held out his hand for Alexander to shake, which he happily did.

_I’d love to._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got no fucking clue where this is going (ok a tiny bit of a clue) but this came out of the idea that what if Alexander, the boy who loves to talk and rant, wasn't able to. I hope that I did an alright job representing him and what not. More characters will be added in as I figure out plot lines. 
> 
> Alex went mute due to vocal fold nodules that he never let heal and didn't get medical attention for until it was too late. My science may be a bit off on it but oh well. 
> 
> This chapter is also significantly shorter than what I usually try to write but here I am, not giving a fuck. Let me know if I'm missing tags or made coding/spelling/grammar mistakes. 
> 
> Please comment, leave kudos, and/or hmu on my tumblrs [princesskane](http://princesskane.tumblr.com/) or [johnfightmelaurens](http://johnfightmelaurens.tumblr.com/).  
> Boost my ego, you know you want to ;)


	2. Beginnings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here we meet: Hercules, Lafayette, Aaron, Angelica, Eliza

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TWs: drinking, talk of death, drug use (just marijuana don't worry)

“You know your signing is a little off, right? Sometimes even grammatically incorrect.”

 _I learned ASL after I went mute, not deaf. Signing this way makes more sense. Less gets lost, I think,_ he signed with a bit of a shrug. Alexander knew that he didn’t follow the long held grammatical rule of object-subject-verb that he had been taught, though it wasn’t used very often even by the deaf folks he had known. _It’s closer to SEE, gives me more room to express myself. You should see how I write._

“Signed Exact English?” John clarified and Alexander nodded, sipping his coffee. He didn’t like ‘dates’ that involved food because talking with your hands while actively using them to shovel food in your mouth was hard. “Makes sense, I never thought of it that way. Must be exhausting to sign though, I’m already struggling to keep up.”

John took a sip of his own coffee, smiling at the man across the table from him. 

_Why do you know sign? People don’t usually learn it without a reason._

“My brother,” he said with a bit of a smile. “He uh, was born deaf and so me and my sister Martha decided to teach ourselves the language. We ended up teaching him too because my dad… Just sent him off to a shitty oralism school where they don’t let them sign, just talk and read lips and god he hated it.”

Alexander winced, he’d heard about those kinds of schools when he came to America and started learning ASL. There was a bunch of controversy around them, but the big argument was that they were depriving the kids of a language.

It hadn’t taken him too long to learn the basics and within no time he had adapted it to his needs. Sometimes he felt like the language was holding him back and it most definitely was. There were some words you would never have a sign for and finger spelling only got you so far.

_How old is he?_

John stiffened and set down his coffee. He avoided making eye contact, instead opting to look up at the umbrella they were sitting under on the patio of the cafe they were at. “He uh, he died last year. He’d be twelve now.”

The pain on John’s face was so obvious and it tore at Alexander’s heart. He had lived through the death of his mother, the pain of his father abandoning them, and the slow drifting away from his brother. He reached out a hand and rested it atop John’s with a small smile.

_Sorry._

It wasn’t very eloquent or even meaningful, but it was a simple sign and he hoped that the look on his face sold how dreadfully sorry he really was about the situation. A loss of a family member stabbed deep and was always there in the back of one’s head. He tried not to think of his mother, but there were nights where he could do nothing but sob with a broken voice over her death.

“It’s… It’s alright. I mean, it’s not, but I’ve been getting through it mostly. It happened a while ago, at least that’s what I tell myself. I like to think that as long as I keep signing I’ll never really lose him.”

 _Did he have a favorite sign?_ Alexander signed as he pulled his hand away from John’s, trying not to think too much about how the other’s skin had felt against his own.

John laughed and nodded. Most kids did. He held out his right hand, as if he were about to give a thumbs up but just rested it on top. He moved his left to rest atop it and moved it back and forth the smallest of bits, causing his right thumb to seemingly move in and out of the ‘shell’ of his left hand.

“Turtle.”

_I know the sign for turtle._

The two of them busted up laughing for a moment and when it was over, both of them sipped their coffee in a comfortable silence. John was smiling again and Alexander couldn’t help but notice the way his freckles curled around his cheeks. Like stars perhaps.

John was too cute for his own good.

* * *

When John had offered to introduce him to his friends, Alexander was more than a little concerned. As far as he knew, they didn’t know ASL and Alexander had gotten quite used to being able to ‘talk’ to someone in real time. The idea of writing didn’t faze him; he was constantly filling notebook after notebook often frantically. 

It was the fear of going unheard.

John assured him that they would listen and he would act as interpreter if necessary. They’d been hanging out for weeks now, mostly getting coffee between classes and studying together. It hadn’t even occurred to Alex that John may have other friends, but he wasn’t about to admit that.

The bar was dimly lit and that was stressful enough. He wouldn’t be able to shout over the music if John didn’t see his signs and it would be impossible to read and write small notes should he need to. Perhaps he’d have to use his phone, but that wasn’t a very appealing option either. 

He asked John to order him a beer and found a booth to make his own while he waited for the two men that John wanted to introduce him to to arrive. It didn’t take long for John to join him and pass a beer his way and right when Alex was about to ask where the fuck these friends were, John was standing up and pulling two men into a brief hug each with the signature Heterosexual Back Clap™. 

“Alex, this is Hercules Mulligan,” he said and pointed to what appeared to be the human embodiment of a teddy bear or the most terrifying human being, depending on how he felt about you. “And this is Lafayette.” He pointed to the much taller man standing beside him with his hair pulled back tight. “Gentlemen, this is Alexander Hamilton.”

“Ah, the one who talks with his hands a great deal,” Lafayette said and reached a hand out for Alex to shake, which he did. “John has told us many things about you.”

“He’s blown off Disney movie night three times to hang out and study with you, I hope you know the damage you’ve done,” Hercules said with a pointed look at him. Alexander would have felt much more seriously threatened if it were not for the smile on his face as he said it.

 _Sorry,_ he signed with a bit of a grin, the idea that John had opted out of plans just to hang out with him made his heart pitter patter a bit. He hoped that the sign was familiar enough to them that John didn’t have to translate.

“It’s okay,” Lafayette said, sitting down beside the quiet man and wrapping a friendly arm around his shoulders. “You didn’t know any better. John was simply too cute and you just want him all to yourself, is that not right?”

Alexander sputtered, not much sound coming from his mouth as his breathing increased a moment. Was it that obvious that he was nursing the tell tale signs of a crush on the first boy who had talked to him on campus? His cheeks were burning.

John’s turned their own bright shade of pink; in the dim light of the bar it almost looked like the blush was going to drown out his freckles. “I’m not gay, Laf. Even if Alexander liked me, which is absurd, there is no chance of a relationship between us.”

That made Alex’s heart break a little and he felt Laf give him a small squeeze around the shoulders. He was trying to be comforting. “Mon cheri, I am of the strong belief that you are so very far back in the closet.”

“That sentence was a bit scrambled,” Herc butted in. He had disappeared without anyone noticing and had returned with a whole nother round of drinks for the table. He sat beside John, making the smaller man scoot over so he was across from Alexander now. 

Laf waved it off and pulled away from Alex in favor of grabbing a drink.

Drinks with Lafayette and Hercules went a lot better than Alex had anticipated. They knew some ASL and what they didn’t know, John filled them in on. Well, Alex had his suspicions that Lafayette didn’t actually know ASL, but FSL instead, but nothing confirmed. They were two very similar languages; ASL having been heavily based on FSL and many signs carrying over entirely.

They had just been discussing the homeless LGBTQ youth population, a surprising topic for a bunch of drunk college kids, when John let out an antagonistic whistle.

“Aaron Burr!” he called out and everyone, including Alex, turned to see the stiff shoulders of someone standing at the bar. The man appeared to take a deep breath before turning towards the group of friends.

“Gentlemen,” he said, raising his beer slightly in greeting. “What a pleasant surprise.”

It didn’t sound like it was a pleasant surprise at all.

“We were just discussing how our heteronormative society forces kids to the streets, care to comment?” Herc asked with a big drunken grin.

“It’s a tragedy,” he deadpanned. 

“You hear that?” John said excitedly. “He said ‘it’s a tragedy’! Fellas, Aaron Burr’s got an opinion!”

“You do know that I’m not a heartless asshole, right?”

Alexander listened as John, Hercules, and even Lafayette antagonized Burr a little while longer. What he got out of it was that Aaron was someone who didn’t have controversial opinions, or at least didn’t share them, and tried to be as politically correct as possible.

It was hard being clever when you couldn’t talk. Alexander had come up with several snarky comebacks and snide remarks while they’d been chatting with Aaron, but without anyone paying him close enough attention, they went unsaid. It was probably for the better though, considering the fact that he had just met these folks. While he didn’t have an issue about being disliked per se, he recognized the benefits that came with people not hating you.

 _If you stand for nothing, what will you fall for,_ he signed after a while to Hercules who busted up laughing in response. 

“Who are you to say I stand for nothing?” Aaron Burr asked, setting his beer down and signing as he spoke. He wasn’t sure why Alexander was signing so he figured it was best to play it safe.

Alexander grinned widely. _Someone with actual opinions and a backbone._

Aaron huffed and was about to say something, hands ready to sign, when John interrupted.

“I realize you weren’t all properly introduced! Burr, this is Alexander Hamilton,” he said with a dramatic sweep of his hand. “He’s mute not deaf so you don’t gotta worry about your hands. Alex, this is Burr, a spineless fucker.”

“I didn’t want to assume,” Aaron said as he tucked one hand into his pocket while the other picked up his beer once more.

Lafayette hollered with laughter. “Ah, Burr! Playing the safe game!”

“Why do you know sign, Burr?” Hercules pressed and Aaron had to stop himself from groaning.

“My aunt and uncle raised me and they happened to be deaf.”

 _No parents?_ Alexander signed, the two quick signs going unnoticed by his friends who were cackling loudly at some comment Lafayette made in french. 

_Dead,_ Aaron signed with one hand as he took a long drink from his beer. It was a small sign, just a flipping over of the hand. 

_Same,_ he signed in response.

Alex couldn’t be sure but he could have sworn he saw a smile flash across Aaron’s face. It seemed that they may have had more in common than they thought.

* * *

Alexander was on the fence about parties. 

On one hand, there was alcohol to be had and the music was often loud enough that no one cared if he couldn’t speak, but sometimes there were cute boys or pretty girls to talk to and having to do so entirely through his phone or a piece of paper was exhausting. Plus universities didn’t often supply students with interpreters for “extracurriculars” like binge drinking and getting high.

He and John had arrived at one of the famed Schuyler parties a bit later than intended. Hercules and Lafayette were supposedly already there, but finding them wasn’t on the top of their ‘to do’ list. 

Alcohol. Alcohol was at the top of their list. The Schuyler sisters were daughters of a wealthy man and had wealthy friends with wealthy tastes in alcohol. John was a good friend and made sure to keep Alex in tow as they headed into the small apartment’s kitchen. There were quite a few bottles scattered across the counter top, mixers and alcohol alike. John quickly fixed a drink for Alex, cranberry juice with vodka, before making one for himself. He wondered a moment if he should tell John that he was perfectly capable of pouring his own alcohol, but decided it wasn’t worth it.

They stuck together for a little while, keeping an eye out for Hercules and Lafayette, but it wasn’t long before John was being pulled away from him by someone he later learned was a miss Martha Manning. 

Alex would like to think that being left alone wasn’t too terrible of a fate, but in practice it was the absolute worst. Without someone nearby to help translate what he was saying and being a bit too drunk to trust autocorrect to accurately portray what he had to say, people gave him a wide berth. 

He was just about done feeling sorry for himself when he felt a hand at his elbow and turned, coming face to face with the one and only Angelica Schuyler. 

“I don’t believe we’ve met,” she said with a grin as she cocked her head to the side. It almost hurt that this beautiful girl would likely leave him to his own devices in minutes. “Angelica Schuyler.”

 _A-L-E-X-A-N-D-E-R H-A-M-I-L-T-O-N,_ he fingerspelled for her, hoping that she would at least get his name out of it. 

A look of confusion flashed across her face before it seemed to dawn on her that he couldn’t speak. He’d blame the alcohol for that. “Alexander Hamilton,” she said with a smile. “Sorry, I’m not too used to reading finger spelling; it’s sometimes hard to get my head around it.”

 _You know sign?_ he asked, a bit hopeful.

“Oh yeah,” she said, moving to get to the counter behind Alex to pour herself another drink. It seemed like no matter how much people drank, they weren’t putting a dent in the alcohol supply. “All of us Schuyler’s do. Want to meet them?”

 _Are they as beautiful as you?_ he signed and it earned him a smack to his shoulder.

“Alexander, are you flirting with me? I have a boyfriend, I’ll have you know,” she said, still smiling. Perhaps he hadn’t overstepped as far as he could have. “My sister, however.... Well, I’m about to change your life.”

_Lead the way._

He let Angelica drag him across the apartment through several small crowds of people. She went around an impromptu game of beer pong that had been set up on the coffee table and tugged him into one of the bedrooms. There were more people in the room than Alexander cared to count in his state, but noted that Hercules, Lafayette, and John (with his lady friend in his lap) were all sitting there. It wasn’t until he saw a girl in a pale blue dress taking a bong rip that he understood what was even happening in the room.

“Eliza!” Angelica said as the girl, who was apparently her sister, let out the deep inhale of smoke with a small cough and a bit of a grin on her face. She passed the bong off to Lafayette who was sitting to her left and got to her feet, going to see what her sister wanted.

“Yes?” she asked, leaning against the door frame. It was then that she seemed to notice Alexander. “Oh, who might you be?”

“This is Alexander,” Angelica introduced him and Eliza gave him a warm smile.

“Well, hello, Alexander,” she said and reached out a hand which he took a chance on and brought to his lips for a chaste kiss. She seemed to blush. “Elizabeth Schuyler, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“My sister,” Angelica said, elbowing him gently in the side.

 _I believe I have just gazed upon the sea. Nothing is as enchanting as you are now,_ he signed, fingerspelling a couple of the words. He made sure to sign them slowly and he watched as Eliza’s grin grew wider. The fact that he was signing wasn’t deterring her like it had many girls, and boys for that matter, in the past.

“My dear Alexander,” she said, standing up straight and taking his hand. “Do pass me your phone so I can text you later and you can bury me in all the poetic compliments you wish when I am not high as a kite and can truly appreciate them.”

He laughed, nothing more than huff of air leaving his lips as he nodded and pulled out his phone. She was quick to type in her number and create a contact before passing it back.

“Now, would you like to join us? There’s plenty to go around.”

He shook his head. _I’d much rather drink,_ he signed and turned to Angelica. _Care to join me?_ The elder Schuyler nodded and he caught the pout of Eliza’s face. 

“Do text me. I’d love to get coffee sometime, Alexander.”

He nodded. He’d be sure to do that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honesty all of this is backstory; the real plot isn't set in college so just know that. I still have quite a lot of backstory I want to cover too so it may be quite a few chapters before we get to the real meat of the conflict.
> 
> For now, enjoy these cheesy bits of the past!
> 
> Please comment, leave kudos, and/or hmu on my tumblrs [princesskane](http://princesskane.tumblr.com/) or [johnfightmelaurens](http://johnfightmelaurens.tumblr.com/).  
> Boost my ego, you know you want to ;)


	3. Weddings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> First you get engaged then you get married. It's simple math.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is shorter than i wanted it to be tbh but oh well. shout out to my homie kassie for being a gr8 friend and letting me talk at her every time about everything
> 
> TWs: mild drinking, falling in love, weddings, lafayette insisting his friend is gay

Elizabeth Schuyler was one of the most incredible people he had ever met, full stop. After the night of partying at the Schuyler apartment, Alex had followed through and texted her a fair share of sweet compliments and even a sonnet or two. 

Talking with Eliza was so easy. Of all his friends, she had the most skill when it came to signing. Even John paled in comparison to her skillful hands and quick mind.

With the vibrant Eliza in his life, his feelings for John fell into the background. They were still there, but buried underneath every smile Eliza graced him with, every gentle touch, every laugh, every twitch of her fingers as she signed. There was so much beauty in Eliza that it was near impossible for Alexander to not fall for her, especially when she showed interest in return. He had no business pining for someone he could never have. Despite how much Herc and Laf insisted John was just in the closet, Alexander wasn’t going to get his hopes up until his best friend actually came out.

Plus John had a _fiancee_. He’d gotten Martha Manning pregnant and with Henry breathing down one side of his neck and her father down the other, he was forced to propose. Henry bought the ring. Hell, Henry was planning on paying for anything, to Alexander’s knowledge. The wedding, the prenatal care, the childcare. All of it. John just had to stay in school and get his law degree.

Alexander and Eliza fit together well. She kept him grounded and he kept her smiling.

It was no surprise to anyone when they got engaged as Alex was finishing up his first year of law school alongside Aaron Burr and John Laurens.

“Where’d you get money for a ring?” Aaron asked as he walked with Alex. They were both heading into criminal law so they stuck together. Aaron could understand Alex and had offered to translate for him. Law was full of hard and confusing terms that interpreters hated to try and read from fingerspelling. He and Aaron had developed shorthand for many of the long and obnoxious terms and phrases needed in a courtroom and in class. It was a good set up.

 _John and Laf gave me money,_ he signed with a sheepish smile. _I said I would pay them back when I have the money, but I don’t know if they will let me. I’m swimming in debt as it is._

“Marrying rich will surely help that debt,” Aaron said with a smirk as they approached their classroom. Alex scoffed, but grinned in return as he landed a light hearted smack to Aaron’s shoulder.

* * *

“They’re getting married.”

“I know, Laf.”

“How does it make you feel?”

“Fuck off, Laf.”

John threw a pillow at the frenchman who was laying on the floor of his apartment, staring up at the ceiling as John worked on a term paper. Why Lafayette was there, who knew, but he was bothering him at the very least.

Lafayette caught the pillow and held it to his chest with a slight smile.

“I am being serious, mon ami. How does it make you feel?”

“Two things you may have forgotten: one, I’m married, and two, I’m not gay.”

“You don’t really love her,” Laf scoffed. “You just married her because of a drunken mistake that resulted in a child.”

“And now I have a beautiful daughter. What gives you the right to tell me how I feel about _my wife_ and who I’m attracted to?” John snapped and threw the uneaten apple that was sitting on his desk at his friend. He was annoyed by all of Lafayette’s prodding. How dare he?

“When was the last time you slept with her?”

“I beg your pardon?”

“How long has it been since you fucked your wife?”

John didn’t answer.

“It was your wedding night, yes?”

“I’m busy with law school, here in New York. She’s living in South Carolina with my family.”

“Do you not go home in the summer or for holidays? John, you have been married for a year and a half now.”

“You don’t need to know my sex life, Laf. Don’t you have anything better to do than to hassle me in my own home while I write a paper? Like, oh I don’t know, your job?”

“George gave us the day off. He has his anniversary dinner with Martha.”

“Of course he does,” John grumbled and shut the book he had been trying to pick out pieces of information from, to no avail. Lafayette’s job usually kept him busy, campaigning for a senator and all that, but apparently not today.

“John,” the frenchman said after a quiet moment passed between the two of them. “I am sorry if I overstepped. I simply do not like to see you unhappy and I do not believe Martha makes you happy; at least not the way Alexander does.”

“You said it yourself, Laf. He’s engaged.”

“And you’re married. And not gay.”

“Right.”

* * *

_This is weird._

“Would you rather we hire an interpreter?” John asked with a smile as he fixed Alex’s boutonniere. 

_Yes, because there’s an emergency line to hire interpreters for your wedding when you realize how weird it is for your best man to be saying your vows for you._

“Fine. Would you rather Burr do it?”

Alex scoffed, a harsh exhale of air while he threw his hands into the air. _God no. That’s worse._

John laughed and Alexander seemed to calm down a bit as he fixed the groom’s lapel. “It’ll be fine. I’ve got a killer best man speech for the reception.”

_I’m terrified._

Both of them laughed before sharing a tight hug. “I’m so happy for you,” John mumbled and he felt Alex’s hand at his back silently signing thank you, a simply downward motion from the chin. 

It took Lafayette banging on the door to the small room for them to let go of each other.

* * *

The ceremony was beautiful and Alexander was eternally grateful for the Schuylers and all that they did. Philip Schuyler bankrolled the whole thing, otherwise it wouldn’t have happened until Alexander was done with law school and even then, who knew when he would actually start making money. But they had faith in him. There was a spark that nearly everyone that met Alex could see, a spark that told everyone he wouldn’t back down from any fight put in front of him.

The ceremony had been at a small church, not far from the Schuyler residence which was where they all ended up for the reception. There was an open bar, it however didn’t open until dinner was served much to everyone’s disappointment.

“It’s time for a toast!” John announced, getting to his feet with a glass of champagne in hand. Dinner was in full swing by now. 

“Alexander Hamilton is a man,” he started and everyone chuckled. It was no secret that John was a talkative drunk and tipsy he sure was. “He is a good man. He’s passionate and loyal and full of so much drive and ambition. I have only known him a few years and that is my biggest regret. My life is richer with you in it, Alex. I hope you make Eliza at least half as happy as you’ve made me.”

There was a roaring applause that followed and John looked to Alex. The man loved a crowd, but this? This wasn’t what he was used to. This crowd was mostly full of Eliza’s family and their rich friends. Alex’s small table of friends was close by, but it was obvious to all that knew him that he was nervous being around so many strangers. Rich strangers. Strangers who were close to his newly wed wife and were skeptical of his intentions.

“Now, give it up to the maid of honor, Angelica Schuyler!”

With that, John sat down in his seat in between Alex and Lafayette. He caught Alex’s appreciative look before he caught Laf’s elbow to his side. He turned and met his friend’s gaze with a frown.

“He is officially off the market now, you know,” Lafayette whispered in John’s ear as Angelica started her own toast to her sister and now brother-in-law. 

“As am I,” he muttered back.

“How do you not see what is so plainly there, mon ami? Do you not see the way he looks at you? The way he makes you laugh?”

“You’re drunk, Laf,” John grumbled and ignored the rest of Lafayette’s comments in favor of listening to Angelica Schuyler talk.

“To your union and the hope that you provide. May you always be satisfied!”

John threw back the champagne flute the second he could. Alcohol was the only thing that could make this wedding any better.

Alexander was happy though; sitting there next to his beautiful wife. She was just as radiant as the day they’d met and it was so easy to see why Alex had fallen for her. 

As John went to the bar for a rum and coke, he figured that he could drink to that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is just about wrapping up all of the exposition I have planned. I think the next chapter will be the last one before what I would consider the actual plot happens. I'm honestly fudging some lines in terms of time because I don't want to figure that out yet. 
> 
> Let me know of any spelling, grammar, or coding mistakes.
> 
> Please comment, leave kudos, and/or hmu on my tumblrs [princesskane](http://princesskane.tumblr.com/) or [johnfightmelaurens](http://johnfightmelaurens.tumblr.com/).  
> Boost my ego, you know you want to ;)
> 
> If you have any questions, I'll do my best to reply! But in general, thank you to all who have commented and left kudos already! I am super appreciative of it!


End file.
